Chain-wheel



(No Model.)

J. M. DODGE.

GHAIN WHEEL. No. 366,819. Patented July 19, 1887.

T S T I[\I\/EIII\ITOR a? W 917 19006 4..

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEieE.

JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOIL TO THE EVART MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHAIN-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,819, dated July 19, 1887.

Application filed October 4, 1886. Serial No. 215,296. (No model.)

To all whom it may Concern: represents a section of drivechain such as I Be it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, of coutemplace using my improved wheels in Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia connection with. This chain is composed of and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a centrally open, oblong, or nearly rectilinear new and usefulImprovementin Chain-\Vheels; links, whichare coupled together through the 55 and I do hereby declare that the following is medium of cast saddle pieces or blocks, (aca full, clear, and exact description thereof, cording to United States Letters Patent grantreference being had to the accompanying ed to me on the 12th day of September, 1882,) drawings, making part of this application. and arranged alternately in planes transverse My invention relates to chain-wheels or to each other; but of course any other eon- 60 sprocket-wheels, which are more especially struetion or form of chain in which the links adapted to and used for the purposes of idlers are centrally open and are arranged alterfor supporting the horizontal runs of drive, nately in transverse planes may be used with chains of that type or species which is comequal advantage on my improved sprocket- 1 posed of centrally open links that lie (when wheel. 65

the chain is in working condition) in planes The wheel is composed, as shown, ofasuitaalternately transverse to each other; and my -ble hub like portion, 0, arms (Z, and a rim, 6, invention consists in a novel construction of from which rim project outwardly and rasprocket-wheel having alternatelyarranged dially the teeth or sprockets f and which single and duplex teeth constructed andoperare of course equidistant circumferentially 7o ating as will be hereinafter more fully exof the wheel, but which are differently conplained, and as will be more particularly dcstructed, as will be presently explained, so lined and specifically pointed out in the claim that the single teeth 9 are adapted to enter or of this specification. engage with the central openings ofsuch ones To enable those skilled in the art to which of the chainlinks as lie in a plane parallel to 75 my invention relates to make and use chainthe axis of the wheel, while those markedf wheels embracing my improvement, I will are double or duplex, and are adapted to stradnow proceed to more fully describe the latter, dle and hold or confine laterally those of the referring by letters of reference to the accomlinks which lie in a plane transverse to that 0 panying drawings, which form a part of this of the axis of the wheel. 80 specification, and in which I have illustrated Each one of the teeth 9 is made preferably my invention carried out in that form which in skeleton form and somewhat afterthe patis the best now known to me, and in which I tern, in side view, of the teeth of a spur-gear, have so far successfullypracticed it. and of the proper size and shape to conven- In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view or ientl y enter the open central space ofthe chain- 8 5 elevation of a sprocket-wheel made accordlinks with which it is designed to engage, as ing to my invention, and showing in engage clearly illustrated in the drawings, while the ment therewith part of the wheels rim of a teethfarc in the form of two cheek-pieces, drive-chain or carrier-chain such as my imbetween which may be properly confined lat- 0 proved wheel is designed to be used in conerally those links of the chain which while 0 nection with. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the passing over the periphery ofthe wheel, lie in chain-whcel, taken at the line 00 w of Fig. 1. a plane transverse to. the whcels axis.

Fig. 3 is a detail section at the line y 3 Fig. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that 2, showing one of the single teeth. Fig. 4 is the single teeth (marked will enter the cona similar section at the line 2 z, showing one tral openings of some of thelinks of the chain, 5 of the duplex or double teeth. while those marked f will straddle and later- In the several figures the same part will be ally confine certain other links of the chain, found designated by the same letters of referwhile a reference to Fig. 2 will give a correct ence. idea of the relative shape and arrangemei'it A is the chain. or sprocket wheel, and B of the single and double teeth projecting from the rim of thewheel, the duplex teeth or.

cheek-piecesf appearing at the upper part of the wheel in this sectional view, while the single teeth yare seen at the lower part of said figure. As the chain B travels in engagement wit-lithe wheel shown, the links of said chain are kept in mesh with the teeth of said wheel by reason of the successive engagement of the single teeth 9 with the horizontally-located links of the chain, and the laterally-engaging duplex teeth f, which straddle the verticallyarranged links of the chain and receive the draft-.power by contact of their working-edges with the metallic blocks i of the chain.

It will be understood that when sprocket or chain wheels are used as idlers to support the horizontal runs of long and heavy drive or carrier chains'ofthe type shown and described, it is'necessary to have the teeth of the chainwheel engage with each and every successive link of the chain, as otherwise any wabble of or'tendency to twist in the chain is liable to throw the latter out of mesh or out of engagement with the teeth of the wheel, this result being especially liable where large or heavy chain is employed, and where the chain acts as a carrier, and has attached to it laterally-projecting flights or floats, which tend to make the chain tip orwabble about an axis coincident with its general line of draft. As the links of this kind'of chain lie in alternately-arranged transverse planes,'it is impossible to have the teeth of the sprocketwheel as ordinarily constructed mesh or engage with more than every other one of the chain-links; but to overcome this difficulty I have devised and successfully employed the construction ofvwheel shown, in which every other tooth is adapted to engage with the central opening of a link, and every intermediate tooth or sprocket-like device is made duplex, so as to leave a seat or saddle-like receptacle between the teeth, on which the edge of a centrally-arranged link may rest, the edges or working -faces of the parts of such duplex sprocket working against either the end of one of the horizontallyarranged links or against any coupler device or-connecting-piece which may be arranged-as, for instance, shown at i between the coupled ends of the central links.

A reference to Fig. 3 will show that the working or bearing surfaces of each single tooth g are adapted to engage with the eentrally-open links very much after the fashion of the ordinary sprocket or chain wheel tooth, while an observation of Fig. 4 will make clear how the two-part or duplex teeth f are adapted to laterally embrace the links which lie in a plane vertical to the axis of the wheel, and how the rim portion of the wheel in between the two'parts of the duplex teeth f constitutes a sort of saddle or support for one edge of such vertically-arranged links.

Of course the details of construction may be varied more or less and the precise forms of the parts modified without departing from the spirit of my invention so long as the principle of construction and mode of operation of the wheel shall be such that its, alternate singlewheel formed or provided with apertures be-' tween the parts of the duplex teeth,,as shown, said construction forming the subject-matter ofanother application now pending by me, No. 215,297, what I claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A sprocket-wheel formed or provided with alternately-arranged single teeth anddouble teeth or saddle-like devices adapted, respectively, to engage with the central openings of the drive chain teeth, which lie in a plane parallel to the axis of the wheels shaft, and to embrace the links which travel in a plane transverse to the axis of .the wheel and come to bearings against the ends of the first-mentioned links, all substantially as hereinbefore set forth. a

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES M. DODGE. 

